Puffed Up

I Cor 8:1b "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies."

I needed to hear this today…the reminder that knowledge puffs up. The word for "puff up" actually means blow up, inflate, swell…to be proud. This is where we get the idea of getting a big head. When we know things that others may not know, or if we think that we know things we can get a big head. This is what was happening in the Corinthian church. They knew that idols did not exist, so if they ate meat sacrificed to idols, it was no big deal. They would take the meat and enjoy it. The problem is, not everyone knew that other gods did not exist, so when they saw some people eating meat that was sacrificed to an idol, they either were offended, or they were caused to doubt and they also ate but they ate with a guilty conscience. (Of course this guilty conscience was put there by the accuser, but they did not know that.) Paul was telling this church, just because you have knowledge it does not give you unbridled liberty to just do whatever you want. You have to consider the other guy. You have to think about the effect that your action is going to have on that person. This is why he said: "Love edifies." If you are walking in love, you are thinking of others and you will not do that thing that you have the freedom to do but the other guy does not. Instead you will take into consideration their mindset and refrain from doing something that could hurt them. This is why he later said to the church at Philippi "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Phil 2:4 Love and humility kiss each other. (See Ps. 85:10)

Why did I need to hear this today? Because I had a blast yesterday. It was a privilege to be able to preach at my church. I had the opportunity share with our congregation the fact that our God is the Awesome Eternally Existent Creator of all things. In other words, God is massive. We tried to get a little glimpse of the magnitude of God. I think that we may have gotten a taste. Then to think that this Awesome God loves us tiny little humans…that I am just one of an estimated 106 billion people who ever lived on this planet and this planet is just one of potentially millions or billions or even quadrillions of other planets that God has created. It really makes you realize how unbelievably small and insignificant you really are…yet God loves me. Jesus died for me. Unreal. Again…why did I need to hear this today? Because I do not want to be puffed up. It is no secret, I have written about his before, but I like to hear when I do well, and many people were very kind after I had a chance to speak. Thank you, but big deal. I should not have to hear any accolades. Just because I had a chance to study and deliver and communicate, that does not make me anything special. After all, I just got done preaching about how small I am. I only want the praise and credit and glory to go to the Great and Awesome God that I had a chance to talk about. And then I need to walk in love. To love others. To care about others. To think of others. To minister to others. This is where real spirituality is…not in delivering a sermon, but in living a life.

Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.